Skyler Gill-Howard just traded a 3 AM shift at FedEx for a spot on the Detroit Lions' defensive line.

The Detroit Lions selected Texas Tech defensive tackle Skyler Gill-Howard with the No. 205 pick in the sixth round. Now, as his pro career starts, it's worth noting that all of this didn't come easy for Skyler.

"The hours. So I worked at FedEx.We're at the airport putting these big cargo containers in the plane. So we'd wake up, it was like 3 AM, 3 AM-11 AM. I'd go do that, and I'd go straight to training. Repeat every day for months," Gill-Howard told reporters after getting drafted.

So far, Greenfield High School has produced just one NFL player, punter Matt Turk. Now Gill-Howard became the second such player.

"I worked there for a year and a half," he added. "I was still working when I was at NIU. I was a red shirt in my first season, so anytime we had an away game, I didn't make the bus that week, I'd go home and work because they had like a scholarship programme and things like that."

It was truly an underdog journey by every means for Skyler, but the grit paid off.

From starting as a Division II walk-on, later transferring and bulking up to play defensive tackle, clearly shows that he wouldn't let his situation dictate terms.

Playing with the Northern Illinois Huskies for two years (2023 and 2024), Gill-Howard racked up 75 tackles (42 solo), 12 tackles for loss and six sacks.

Skyler Gill-Howard Addresses His Season-Ending Injury

Skyler Gill-Howard started the first six games of the 2025 season for Texas Tech. The DT suffered an ankle injury that ended his season, for which he underwent surgery in October last year.

"A big part of my game is being a leader," said Skyler Gill-Howard. "I got injured. Being external was a big thing for me. To be there for my guys, my teammates, and watch them succeed was a big part of me keeping my mind right, my mental right. Just knowing God has a plan, whether in the NCAA or being here right now."

A player who started as a walk-on linebacker at Northern Illinois became a defensive tackle after gaining over 50 pounds in 2022. He eventually became a team captain before being transferred to Texas Tech.

In Texas, Gill-Howard tallied 13 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and one interception in 2025 with the Red Raiders. The 6-foot, 280-pound defensive tackle had a 55-yard pick-six in Texas Tech's win over Kent State.

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Written by

Sourav Ganguly

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore